Virginia Key LLC's $80M marina redo clears court, hits Nov. 3 ballot
The incumbent marina operator tried to stop the referendum in court and lost, clearing a separate Virginia Key lease from the one voters already approved this month.
An 11th Judicial Circuit judge has cleared the way for Miami voters to decide the fate of a roughly $80 million marina redevelopment on Virginia Key, rejecting a lawsuit from the site’s incumbent operator that sought to block the November 3 referendum.
Why it matters
Judge Walsh’s ruling removes the last legal obstacle standing between Virginia Key LLC, a joint venture of RCI Group and Suntex Marinas, and a public vote on a long-term lease for roughly 27.62 acres of city-owned waterfront covering Rickenbacker Marina and the Marine Stadium marina. Rickenbacker Marina Inc., Biscayne Marine Partners and Adam Gersten, the incumbent operators, had sued to stop the referendum outright rather than campaign against it, a sign of how much is riding on keeping the current lease in place. That the challenge came as a lawsuit and not just a ballot fight tells developers watching Miami’s public waterfront pipeline that incumbent operators here will use the courts, not just politics, to defend a concession. This is a distinct lease from the Marine Stadium venue deal this outlet reported August 19, when voters approved a separate 40-year Oak View Group management contract for the mothballed stadium itself. That vote covers the concert and event venue; this one covers the marina operations next to it, under a different operator, on a different ballot three months later.
The numbers
Virginia Key LLC’s plan calls for about $80 million in privately funded improvements across the 27.62-acre site, including expanded boat storage, restaurants, retail and parking. That works out to roughly $2.9 million per acre, a figure consistent with upgrading existing marina infrastructure rather than a ground-up build. No public funds are described in the reporting as backing the project; the $80 million is characterized as privately financed by the joint venture.
What’s next
Miami voters decide the referendum on November 3. With the legal challenge rejected, the incumbent operators’ remaining options are to appeal the ruling, campaign against the ballot measure directly, or both. A win for Virginia Key LLC would hand RCI Group and Suntex Marinas a long-term concession over a second major piece of the same city-owned peninsula where Oak View Group just secured its own 40-year deal, making Virginia Key one of the more active fronts in Miami’s public waterfront leasing this year. More on the surrounding market at the Miami hub.